You Need To Put These Transgender Models On Your Radar

Andreja Pejic just made history by becoming the first transgender model to land a spread in American Vogue. (And she looks gorgeousin the photos, BTW.) However, she’s not the only transgender model slaying the fashion game right now. From print campaigns with major designers like Tom Ford to New York Fashion Week runway shows, keep an eye out for these 13 transgender models. The fierceness is beyond real.

Juliana Huxtable

The beautiful model, 27, was born in Texas and is a member of the artistic collective House of Ladosha. As a solo model, Huxtable has walked for DKNY, Eckhaus Latta, BCALLA, Hood by Air, and Chromat. She also appeared alongside 13 other trans women on C☆NDY magazine’s winter 2014-2015 cover.

Geena Rocero

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Rocero was discovered by a fashion photographer when she was 21 in New York City and quickly snagged a contract with NEXT Model Management. Soon after, she started modeling in Macy’s catalogs and Hanes campaigns among other high-profile gigs. However, it wasn’t until March 2014 that Rocero officially came out as trans. “I felt like I was freeing myself to be fully as I am,” she told Glamour magazine last year. “No turning back.”

Isis King

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King rose to prominence in 2008 when she became the first trans woman to join America’s Next Top Model. (She also competed in 2011’s All Stars cycle, though she was quickly eliminated.) After ANTM, King modeled for Seventeen and Out magazines, plus a 2012 campaign for American Apparel. (She was the fashion brand’s first trans model.) Recently, King walked in Chromat’s NYFW fall/winter 2015 show and Betsey Johnson’s NYFW spring/summer 2015 show.

Carmen Carrera

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Carrera was a contestant on the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. However, it wasn’t until May 2012 — one year after the season finale — that Carrera came out as trans. Now, Carrera is a bona fide fashion star, posing in spreads for both W and Glamour UK. Approximately 45,000 fans petitioned for Carrera to be the first trans model to walk the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in 2013 (alas, the brand never responded). In May 2014, famed photographer David LaChapelle featured Carrera in the poster art for the annual Life Ball, an AIDS charity event. In the posters, Carrera is portrayed with both male and female genitalia to blur gender lines. “Your gender should not matter in your heart or in the way you express your personality…,” Carrera said about the art. “My message is: beauty has no gender. At the end of the day beauty is beauty.”

Andreja Pejic

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Besides her monumental Vogue spread, Pejic has enjoyed a very successful modeling career — and she still has so much ahead of her. Prior to coming out as transgender, Pejic walked both the men’s and women’s shows for Jean-Paul Gaultier and men’s shows for Marc Jacobs. After coming out, her success has only grown. She’s walked in the Giles fall/winter 2015 runway show and the DKNY fall/winter 2014 show. Plus, she has recent spreads with W, Teen Vogue, and Vogue Korea to her name, and recently became the face of Make Up Forever. Not too shabby.

Hari Nef

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Twentysomethings, prepare to feel insignificant. Nef is finishing up her undergraduate degree at Columbia University and setting the fashion world on fire at the same time. (So, stop complaining about your finals.) In the 2015 season alone, Nef walked NYFW shows for Hood By Air, Eckhaus Latta, Adam Selman, VFiles, Vejas, and Degen. Oh, did we mention she’s also graced the cover of Frische magazine and appeared in spreads for i-D and Dazed? What did you do today?

May Simon

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The fresh face has modeled in campaigns for Barney’s and Lanvin in addition to spreads for Tush and C☆NDY magazines.

Lea T

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T’s resume is unreal. She was the 2010 face of Givenchy and has appeared in spreads for Vogue Paris, Hercules, Interview, V, Cover, W, C☆NDY, and Love magazines. She also kissed Kate Moss on the spring/summer 2011 cover of Love magazine. (You know, as one does.) In 2014, T became the face of Redken, making her the first trans model to represent an international beauty brand.

This hottie is a model on the rise. He first made waves after he recreated Adam Levine’s racy Cosmopolitan UK shoot (see above). Now, Dowling may be the first transgender model to grace the cover of Men’s Health. MH is currently holding its annual “Ultimate Guy” search and letting fans choose who will don the cover. Dowling is in the lead with “more than four times the amount of votes as the second place-holder,” according to The Huffington Post. “Being the first Trans Men’s Health cover model would mean so much to not only me — but the entire transgender community,” Dowling told HuffPost. Go vote for him!

Maxie Neu

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Like Dowling, Neu is a modeling newbie with a lot of promise. She was a featured model in Barney’s spring 2014 campaign and did a spread for i-D’s summer 2014 issue. We hope to see more of her very soon!

Hingh did an editorial for Love magazine a few years back and has walked the runways for Maison Martin Margiela and Comme des Garcons among others. Most recently, Hingh modeled alongside Yaya DaCosta and Gigi Hadid in Tom Ford’s fall/winter 2014 womenswear campaign. Those. Cheekbones.